Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show, claims that after learning of reports of arsenic in apple juice, he launched an extensive investigation of his own. Using an independent lab for sophisticated, state-of-the-art testing, Oz says he discovered some of the best-known brands of apple juice contains arsenic.

Dr. Oz claims American apple juice is made from apple concentrate, 60% of which is imported from China, and suggests other countries may use pesticides that contain arsenic. Besides being carcinogenic, chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic has been linked to heart disease, diabetes and declines in brain functions.

“In just one type of juice, there can be apple concentrate from up to seven countries,” said Dr. Oz. “Although arsenic has been banned in the US for decades, it’s not always regulated in other countries where it may be in the water supply or used in pesticides contaminating the juice you’re giving to your children.”

The EPA’s limit on arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion. Currently, there is no limit on arsenic in apple juice. The Dr. Oz Show tested three dozen samples from five different brands of apple juice across three different American cities, and compared the levels of arsenic to the standard for water.

Of these, 10 samples came back higher than the arsenic limit allowed in drinking water.

Note: Lab results standard deviation is +/- 20%

Minute Maid Apple Juice

Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion

Highest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion

Apple and Eve Apple Juice

Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion

Highest Sample for Arsenic: 11 parts per billion

Mott’s

Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 4 parts per billion

Highest Sample for Arsenic: 16 parts per billion

Juicy Juice

Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 2 parts per billion

Highest Sample for Arsenic: 22 parts per billion

Gerber

Lowest Sample for Arsenic: 3 parts per billion

Highest Sample for Arsenic: 36 parts per billion

In a statement, the FDA denied there was any evidence of public health risk from drinking these juices.

There are two forms of arsenic: organic and inorganic. Inorganic arsenic, like the kind found in pesticides, is toxic and a known carcinogen. According to the FDA, organic arsenic is essentially harmless.

However, when metabolized, organic arsenic can transform into inorganic arsenic. A study by Duquesne University researchers found that organic arsenic added to chicken feed is chemically transformed into inorganic arsenic. The Duquesne study found bacteria accelerated the conversion.

As a result, scientists suggest more studies are needed on how the human body processes organic arsenic. That’s why a Pfizer subsidiary suspended all sales of Roxarsone (which contains organic arsenic) in poultry feed.

The FDA criticized The Dr. Oz Show’s lab results because they disclosed total arsenic levels, and did not separate inorganic arsenic vs organic arsenic.

But according to Dr. Oz, one of the juice companies he profiled tested the same juice lots Dr. Oz did and sent their lab results’ breakdown of organic vs inorganic. The majority of those samples’ total arsenic was the most harmful kind: Inorganic.

In 2009, The University of Arizona bought items from a supermarket to investigate suspected arsenic in broths and beverages, and sent them to a lab to be tested. They found apple juice samples that contained a high level of inorganic arsenic – above the 10 ppb the EPA sets for total arsenic in drinking water.

If you go to page 4 of the study, you will see the breakdown of inorganic arsenic and organic arsenic in apple juice. The symbols As (III) and As (V) note inorganic arsenic.

Dr. Oz disputes the FDA claim that organic arsenic is safe, and believes total arsenic levels should be lower to minimize the effects of long term exposure over many years.

Organic arsenic CAN be harmful, says Dr. Oz. “There are toxic forms of organic arsenic. The FDA also knows that our understanding of organic arsenic is evolving. We are learning more about how organic arsenic is converted into the more toxic inorganic arsenic.”

The Dr. Oz Show has extended new invitations to the FDA, the juice companies and the Juice Products Association to appear on the show. They all declined.

Dr. Oz is Vice-Chair and Professor of Surgery at Columbia University. He directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He was a regular on Oprah prior to getting his own program on FOX.